Nicole Hensley

Houston

Courtroom hopping for the @HoustonChron, @spocats wrangler. I talk about pulling weeds too much. Past: @SpokesmanReview, @NYDailyNews

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Articles

'Take me out': Ex-HPD cop Goines' mid-trial suicide plan detailed in court docs

6 days ago | houstonchronicle.com | Nicole Hensley

The whispers of two Harris County deputies about former Houston police officer Gerald Goines’ unexecuted plan to take his own life have been revealed in court transcripts from his 2024 felony murder trial. Goines, 60, told a bailiff assigned to the 482nd District Court that he planned to disarm him and force his partner to “take me out,” the bailiff said last October.
Ex-NFL player Kevin Ware pleads guilty to girlfriend's 2021 murder

1 week ago | houstonchronicle.com | Nicole Hensley

Former NFL tight end Kevin Ware Jr. pleaded guilty Wednesday in the April 2021 death of his girlfriend, whose body was burned and reduced to bones. Prosecutors secured the last-minute plea agreement to sentence Ware to 30 years imprisonment on murder and tampering with evidence charges as he was slated to begin jury selection for trial Friday. He was indicted in July 2022 in the death of 29-year-old Taylor Pomaski, more than a year following her disappearance.
Letters reveal discord over leader of Harris County court appointments

1 week ago | houstonchronicle.com | Nicole Hensley

A growing of grievances against the leader of Harris County's Managed Assigned Counsel, an office that ensures quality legal representation to low-income defendants, led to its advisory board's chairman to resign as his colleagues declined to take action. Criminal defense lawyer Mark Hochglaube stepped down as chairperson April 24 during a closed-door meeting about complaints from a group of misdemeanor judges about the director, Kenneth Hardin.
Felony charges dropped against fired Harris County public health director

1 week ago | houstonchronicle.com | Nicole Hensley |Dylan McGuinness

Prosecutors have dismissed felony charges against the former head of the Harris County Public Health Department, saying the allegations that she funneled inside information to help preferred companies land county contracts would be unprovable at trial.
Judge recused from manslaughter case in 2023 Montrose first date death

1 week ago | houstonchronicle.com | Nicole Hensley

A felony judge has been ordered off a manslaughter case involving the 2023 death of a 33-year-old man on a first date following concerns she unfairly communicated with the accused driver’s attorney. Judge Te’iva Bell was removed Wednesday after a hearing where several friends and family members of Joseph McMullin — many of whom have attended every court appearance without fail — observed from the gallery.
Abbott calls for constitutional amendment to automatically deny bonds to some

2 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | John Ferguson |Nicole Hensley

Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday demanded state legislators approve a constitutional amendment that — if passed by voters — would require courts to automatically deny bail to people accused of murder and other violent crimes in the state. Surrounded by crime victim families at Crime Stoppers of Houston, Abbott called on lawmakers to start a process that could put even more stringent requirements on judges and magistrates, who decide if a person can go free in between their arrest and trial.
Man accused of shooting Pct. 1 deputy given swift bond release, but little help

2 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Nicole Hensley

A man accused in a downtown Houston shootout Monday was released from jail days earlier with nowhere to go and nowhere to be until his next court date.
Shootout at downtown Houston courthouse wounds deputy and suspected shooter

3 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Matt Degrood |Nicole Hensley |John Ferguson

A deputy and suspected shooter were wounded Monday after a man with a weapon was seen approaching a family courthouse in downtown Houston, leading to a shootout, the Harris County Precinct 1 Constable's Office confirmed. The armed man was walking from the area of the civil courthouse at 201 Caroline St., toward the Family Law Center, typically teeming with lawyers, courthouse workers and others during the busy lunch hour.
Deputy, Suspected Shooter Wounded in Gunfight at Houston Courthouse

3 weeks ago | officer.com | Matt Degrood |Nicole Hensley

A deputy was shot, as was a suspected shooter, Monday after a man with a weapon was seen approaching a family courthouse in downtown Houston, the Harris County Precinct 1 Constable's Office confirmed. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said he believes the deputy will survive, but offered no further details. No information was available on the condition of the suspected shooter.
Jury to deliberate Xavier Davis' fate in death penalty trial

3 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Nicole Hensley

Lawyers for Xavier Davis and prosecutors will address jurors one final time Thursday to glean his punishment in the death of a Houston child and her parents. Closing arguments follow 18 days of harrowing testimony about how Davis carried out a June 30, 2021, shooting — he pleaded guilty to the killings — and his impoverished and abusive childhood. The latter could sway jurors toward life imprisonment without a chance at parole.